There is a picture on my wall, and it’s the reason I’m about to take off towards Cambodia. Three pictures with different scenes used to hang in my parent’s house on the stairs, and I grew up looking at them. It seems there is war, yet it seems there is more to it, and despite its violence, life is in there.
Or so it seems to me. Actually the truth is – I have no idea what exactly I find so appealing on this picture. Apart from a dragon that looks as if you might be able to ride it. But even there, I’m not sure it really is a dragon and that you really can ride it.
I asked my dad again – he went to Angkor Wat in 1964, a time before something was lost with the revolution that cannot be brought back. I wonder how it would be to have traveled Germany sometime around 1920. Different style, I guess 😉 ((((and sorry for my lack of patriotism, but I bet the food in Cambodia would win in a comparison, even if I hear fried tarantulas are a specialty))))
Well apart from that picture causing me to roam ancient temples and a lot of Mexico-memories coming back at me lately — I think my vacation started with the reading of Vaddey Ratners „In the shadow of the Banyan“. I finished the book tonight (that does feel like vacation) and I cried along, which means I had to take a lot of breaks to free my nose and I forgot the huge cup of tea next to me until it became ice tea (on a side note: farewell to German weather!). However its language intrigued me in its beauty despite the horror of Cambodian history. And by all means I want to now find out a number of things. How does a cashew nut tree look like and will I recognize it? Can you really eat that many parts of a lotus flower and why does my Chinese tea have lotus something core-seed-thingies in it that are mainly very very hard and very very dry? Can you really feel the spirits when sitting underneath a Banyan tree? Will I see Wasserhyazinthen and lotus flowers in full bloom thanks to the monsoon? And what are sugar palms exactly and can you really squeeze their flowers in the morning to retrieve sweet water?
And will Thai Air live up to my expectations…….. Naaa that one’s fine.
I am more excited about – not even the picture – but my desire to go and travel there. Something’s calling and somehow it was clearer on my last big travel adventures which have been a looooong while ago (yeah this blog skips a long long Covid period). Mexico was Frida Kahlo waving at me and a desire to not wait for things I really want to do and see. California was a call to come „home“ to the US (that was actually trigger-tickled, I hope that’s a valid word creation, in meeting such nice US co-travellers in Mexico…) and looking back, it did bring me home to myself in a way that made me stand up for myself. Actually Mexico did that too. Actually I think travelling does that to me.
And ACTUALLY what if the forest is calling me. Rain Forest. With incredible trees, animals that are more likely to see me than the other way around. Mosquitoes that will scare me more than anything else (note: she says that before having met a tiger and despite the fact that she was once very scared of baby sea lions crossing her path). Rice fields. I have never seen them. Maybe in Thailand and I don’t remember. And maybe this blog that – for this trip – has started just now.
I’m still home but not quite any more, and both is unreal now. Germany and Cambodia. Feeling the Noone’s land means the voyage has started. This is so weird!
Of all pictures, one in my mind is real right now. Sitting in Mexico on Isla Holbox after four weeks, waiting for my golf cart taxi to pick me up to get to the ferry and then to the airport, and feeling all I need is nicely packed together in a backpack next to me (yes and a fancy Mexican extra bag and a small backpack but those are details…) and I could just now continue to travel. Maybe time can jump from one travel time to the other. Sitta would agree…
P.S. the spelling correction suggests to put Kahlua instead of Kahlo. Cheers.